I have spoken to the chairman - Allardyce upset by Everton survey

An irritated Sam Allardyce has slammed the "big mistake" that saw Everton distribute a survey inviting fans to rate his performance as manager.

Toffees season-ticket holders were earlier this week asked to indicate their "level of trust in the manager and his coaching staff" on a scale of zero to 10.

Allardyce, who has faced criticism from supporters for an uninspiring run of results, blamed the survey on the director of marketing's lack of football knowledge and revealed he has received an apology from chairman Bill Kenwright.

The latest incident follows just a month after the former England boss promised to give the club's communications department a "telling off" for publicly setting a timescale on Gylfi Sigurdsson's recovery from a knee injury.

"The director of marketing and communications has clearly slipped up," Allardyce said.

"Our department has not been asked what we think of this survey that is going out.

"Even though this survey has recently been passed out before, from my point of view it was a big mistake and has allowed you journalists to write some beautiful headlines on that situation.

"But the actual survey question was 'what do you think of the manager, the players and the staff' and our director of marketing clearly does not have a good understanding of football and how football works as he is interested in market research.

"He must have thought it was the right thing to do, but everyone else including my department hasn't and even the chairman who I spoke to last night."

Asked how he would rate himself, Allardyce jokingly told the reporter to "p*** off", before replying "11."

Everton host the 63-year-old's former club Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Monday.